J-League Cup 2015

About

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Football Club was first established in 1938 as the company team of Toyo Kogyo, now known as Mazda. The club adopted its current name in 1992, prior to the first J-League season. Sanfrecce have enjoyed success in both the amateur and professional eras of Japanese football. They remain owned by Mazda.

The club got off to a dream start in the 1965 season, when they were crowned the first ever champions of the Japan Soccer League. In the same year, they also won the Emperor's Cup to complete a domestic double. The team went on to dominate the division for the remainder of the 1960s, winning consecutive league titles in 1966, 1967 and 1968. The 1967 win was part of a second domestic double. Then, in 1969, the club capped off the decade with a third Emporer's Cup win and a third place finish in the Asian Club Championship.

Success has been slightly harder to come by since the formation of the J-League, although Sanfrecce Hiroshima did manage to claim their first J-League title in the 2012 season. Previously, in 1994, they had won the J-League first stage, but were beaten to the championship by Verdy Kawasaki. In addition to their league performances, the club have won two Japanese Super Cups, in 2008 and 2013.

Over the years, a number of full international footballers have played for the side. Examples include the Czech duo Ivan Hašek and Pavel Černý, South Korean midfielder Noh Jung-Yoon and Japanese full-back Yūichi Komano.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima play their home matches at Hiroshima Big Arch, which was formerly known as Hiroshima Park Main Stadium. The all-seater venue first opened its doors in 1992 and later went on to host the 1994 Asian Games. It is currently able to hold a capacity crowd of 50,000 people.